At sunrise, fishermen are already trying their luck at Anglin’s Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea.

FROM THE TRAVEL SECTION THIS WEEKS NY TIMES!…..

EXCERPTS….

By CHARLES PASSY
Published: April 5, 2009

‘IN the battle of fish versus pelican, our money was on the fish. Not that the plump, yellow-tailed amberjack was still alive, mind you. The catch was an angler’s reject — not particularly good eating, in other words — but it looked like a decent lunch to the pelican that spotted it along the pier.

The only problem? The bird hadn’t quite figured out how to wrap its mouth around its extra-wide find, resulting in a comical scene. My 10-year-old daughter, Emma, stood firmly in place, capturing it all on the family camera.

Such was the kind of cheap entertainment that abounded during a recent weekend family trip to the beach communities north of Fort Lauderdale and south of Boca Raton along the Gold Coast of South Florida. By most definitions, these oceanside towns — Deerfield Beach, Hillsboro Beach, Pompano Beach and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea —’

‘We were not limited to the beach. Emma made a point of checking out the ticky-tacky merchandise at the countless beach shops in all the towns. At a Wings shop in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, she headed straight for the rope bracelets, conveniently ignoring the fact she had a drawer full of them at home.

When we decided to park ourselves for a few hours, we settled on Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, a walkable village where you can while away the morning over a feta cheese omelet at Athena by the Sea, a Greek-style diner by day and a Greek restaurant by night, or while away the afternoon fishing off Anglin’s Pier, a 45-year-old legendary spot that stretches 876 feet into the ocean.

And if it rains? In our case, it gave us an excuse to play a marathon game of Monopoly while lunching on enormous take-out submarine sandwiches from LaSpada’s Original Hoagies, a Lauderdale-by-the-Sea mainstay since 1973. In the end, the game was a draw.

O.K., there are better ways to enjoy a beach vacation than moving pieces around a game board, but the joy of spending time in this part of the world is that a family need not feel pressured to seek out the fun. Instead, the fun finds you, slowly and unexpectedly. Just ask any 10-year-old.’

‘WHERE TO EAT

For breakfast, Athena by the Sea (4400 Ocean Drive, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea; 954-771-2900; www.athenabythesea.net) serves pancakes, omelets and other egg dishes, all under $10. Try some of the Greek breakfast options, including a feta cheese omelet and thick yogurt with honey, bananas and walnuts.

Need a sandwich to go? Look no further than LaSpada’s Original Hoagies (4346 Sea Grape Drive, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea; 954-776-7893; www.laspadashoagies.com), which serves some of the best — and biggest — we’ve ever found in all of Florida, $6.60 to $10.95.’

BC- Should we not value all of our small town charms…Our destination “stars”…….rather than let 1 “Vigilante” carry out his personal vendetta?

It is time for the LBTS residents to stand up and let your Commission know…enough is enough…….Save the Pier sign!….

Tell them to treat these business owners who have chosen to buy property in our town, investing in our “village” to maintain these valued LBTS venues with respect and dignity for what they do….with their heart and soul….

A SIMPLE SIGN….SIGNS ON A 3RD VOTE….THE “NEW” CIC MAJORITY IS NOW IN PLACE!….

Well….well….well….”we’ve” got a liability problem in this town…”We” need to get this crisis straightened out…”We” need to spend $500 and besides “We” FINALLY HAVE 3 to 2!…MCINTEE,SILVERSTONE and CLOTTEY…WEEEEEE…..

Unfortunately….”We”, the townspeople now also have it splashed front and center …front page news…in the local paper …from our neighbor to the north …The Pelican…’Lauderdale-By- The -Sea vice mayor takes on role of code enforcer’…which starts on the front page….continuing on to page 5 under the header ‘Harassment’…. with the litany of VM vs the Marchelos brothers…(previously posted here )…from the VM’s wife yelling out in Jarvis Hall that Louis was “texting” in the hall…The event port-a-potties…The visits from code enforcement “messengers”…The stalling of opening the pier egress voted for 4-1 months ago…….The Dec incident of the Vice Mayor and his wife showing up and making a scene at the Athena’s outdoor dining…and the slew of code warnings that have been constant from the “Vigilante” nightly drive bys…including for a table inches over the boundary line….(Does the Vigilante carry a measuring tape?) extending to the latest “gotcha”…the Pier sign…and the cost this too will bring to the town ala McIntee using the Town Attorney as he has before …..for the retraction early on from the BTSFuture…Greenfest and now this ….

“We’ the townspeople now also face a lawsuit…possibly costing the town big bucks all for one “Vigilante and his sidekicks to “Huff and Puff” like those they claimed they would replace!…YIKES…

The fallout…from the 3-2 new dais majority vote on Consent agenda item 12 j….was this letter was received by the Town ….

LETTER TO THE TOWN…..

3/26/09…

‘Dear Esther,

After the commission voted to engage legal counsel to determine ownership of my pier sign in spite of my offers to share information with the Town, I consulted with legal counsel. Counsel has informed me that the commission’s action has made this a contestd matter with broader implications than a friendly dispute.

All further communications will be through litigation counsel. I fully expect this to only be resolved after certain parties are placed under oath and all hidden agendas are exposed to the light of day.

As a show of good faith, not to be construed as acceptance of the bogus liability argument Commissioner Silverstone and Vice Mayor McIntee, I have placed liability insurance on my pier sign including the Town as additional insured.